The Ageless Guardian
by Valerias Memoria
Summary: When time means nothing one will do anything to find release, and one spiky-haired man will soon find out why. Join me now in the showing of the tale of the ageless guardian! Made in response to James D. Fawkes' Ultima Challenge.


**Hello, Bonjour, Hola, and welcome to my first story, The Ageless Guardian. This is a story I've made in response to the Ultima challenge that was put out by James D. Fawkes. This is the first time I've posted a story and I hope that I can reach the standards that you put out. So enjoy, fruir, jouis, the first chapter of The Ageless Guardian.**

**Tougen: Or else.**

**  
VM: Who let you out of my mind?**

**Tougen: It's not that hard to escape from.**

**VM: Yeah, but then again, you weren't in the corner I leave the rest of the failed OC's.**

**Tougen: …I'll be good…**

**VM: That's what I thought, now you the reader enjoy the story.**

**Tougen: Or else!**

**VM: eyes glow a purple aura as Tougens head explodes into a black substance*Sigh… he'll be back, that much is certain.**

**Disclaimer: *sigh* I do not own FFX or FFVII, no matter how hard I try (I rhyme a lot by the way.) I do own the attack/magic/overdrives/limit breaks/etc. that I create.**

**Chapter Song: New Design by Thousand Foot Krutch**

**The Ageless Guardian**

**By:** Valerias Memoria

Prologue: A New Purpose & Auron's Bad Day

A man slowly trudged along a dirt path, not really caring about his direction. When had he last eaten or drank? He didn't know the answer and he didn't really care either. All he knew was that he was alone. _Completely_ alone in this world. Year after year, month after month completely without anyone, without _anything._ He wished for death- No, he prayed for it. All he wanted was for the pain and loneliness to end. He had watched as centuries went by and yet he never changed. Cloud Strife walked down the Mi'hen Highroad on what seemed to be the millionth time around the world. Considering he had lived for so long it was probably true. He was what now, Four-thousand? Five? He no longer cared. All that mattered was that he was still alive, and he was still alone. He walked and walked, uncaring of his direction. And why should he care. All of his friends, his _family_ had long since died. He had learned the hard way to no longer attempt to make bonds, as he would indefinitely live on while they would die. He had seen civilizations rise and fall. He had seen heroes, villains and monsters the likes of which the world would never think of. Cloud continuously walked down the road, until he blinked, as someone was addressing him.

"I'm sorry sir, we can't allow you through here until the operation is over."

Cloud merely sighed and turned around. It was pointless to argue; he knew how these Crusaders worked. They were a lot like Shinra, completely loyal to their leader and were almost fanatical. He could swing his sword at them and they would still not let him through. Despite his grief, Cloud was not an idiot. He knew everything about this world. He knew about the monster that terrorized it constantly, Sin. He knew of the summoners who gave their lives to defeat it, only for it to return no less than ten years later. He knew of the guardians, the maesters, the guado, and the al bhed and the aeons. Currently he was walking back towards Luca now when a cart pulled up in front of him. One of the Crusaders walking alongside it turned to address the person who had halted their advance.

"Excuse me sir, but could you please move aside so we can keep moving to our destination?"

Cloud paid him no mind and continued to examine the cart. It was fairly normal, but it was what was inside the cart that caused him to stop. There were Sinspawn inside the cart, herded together like animals. Cloud finally tuned into the crusaders as one had moved up beside him and attempting to push him to the side. Keyword being _attempt_, as Cloud was doing anything but moving. Cloud decided to find out what they were doing as it could do no harm, right?

"What are you doing with these Sinspawn?" Cloud's voice was raspy and dry from years without use.

"Huh?" The crusaders were obviously not expecting him to ask such a question let alone talk in the first place.

"I will not repeat myself." Cloud was decidedly blunt.

Having gained his bearings after failing to moving the spiky-haired blonde, the taller of the two answered.

"I'm afraid we cannot answer that question, but we will have to ask you to move now." It wasn't a question so much as a demand on the crusaders part.

Cloud looked over the taller of the two. He had short, bright red hair, and wore brown shoulder guards. He was shirtless, not that Cloud could blame him, as it was hot as hell. He bore a green belt that was wide enough to cover most of his waist and the belt gave way into a pair of baggy blue sweat pants. On further inspection Cloud noted that he had a leather breastplate covering his abdomen and stomach but the belt covered most of it.

Cloud was keen on making his answer sound believable.

"Certainly good crusaders, I was merely curious."

"That perfectly alright, we have encountered many such questions. Chocobo forward!"

Cloud was never one to care about the civilizations around him but this was different. Something felt _off_ about the whole thing. Against his better judgement he shrugged off the tan cloak he had been wearing to reveal the same clothing that he had worn when he fought Sephiroth for the second time in Midgar. He immediately moved to the side of the highroad, slowly stalking the cart. He was waiting for the perfect chance to get into wherever this cart was going, and boy did he get one. The younger of the two Crusaders had called over a rather large group of people. On further inspection, Cloud noticed that it was a summoner and her guardians.

'Who takes so many guardians with them on a pilgrimage?' Cloud however had to stop his train of thought as his opportunity was slipping from him. Moving with the speed born of years of training he dashed under the cart and clung to the under-railings that made up the support frame of the cart. A few moments later the cart was off again and Cloud had nothing to do but wait.

_A couple hours later_

He was in. The guards hadn't even bothered to check the cart and simply let the cart roll right on in. Shortly down the road, Mushroom Rock Road he remembered he dove out from under the cart. The crusaders dragging the cart may or may not have noticed the noise but simply put it down to the chatter of the many crusaders in the canyon. Following behind the cart Cloud noticed a symbol on the ground. Stepping over to the strange symbol he couldn't help but wonder why there were no guards.

'Unless they aren't trying to guard anything.' Cloud thought absentmindedly while moving briskly towards the symbol. When he reached it he recognized it as the insignia of Yevon, the chief religion in Spira. Stepping onto it to get a better look, Cloud soon realized that he was _moving._ After the… platform had reached the peak of its height he moved quickly to the side so as not to alert any guards. Moving down the road he noticed that fiends were in this area. Quickly grabbing the First Tsurugi from his back he dislodged (What's the proper term for this?) the hollow blade and replaced it on his back. Moving through the road he had little trouble save for the crusader mounted on a chocobo who had nearly spotted him. He dispatched any fiends that moved to attack him and moved on. Down the winding path he noticed that there was another symbol on the ground like the one before it. Knowing what to expect now he calmly stood on it and waited for it to rise to the top. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Cloud stepped off and raised an eyebrow at the platform. Stepping back onto it, Cloud let out a grunt of satisfaction as it rose this time. When he reached the top he moved to the side again before slowly moving along the path, albeit with a lot less progress as this time there were dozens of crusaders on this level of the canyon. Roughly half an hour later he arrived at the command centre as Cloud had heard it called by one of the crusaders. Standing off to the side Cloud froze when he heard a voice behind him.

"Oi! You one of those crusaders participating in this whole operation thing?"

Cloud spun so fast all one would see is a blur and he found the strangest sight he had ever seen for quite a while. A man wearing orange pants which were rolled up to his knees and a red muscle shirt which barely stretched across his belly was standing in front of him. The man also wore a blue jacket with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and a rather comical looking hat that was held down by a single strap that went around his chin. Quickly processing the situation he slowly nodded. The man seemed to cheer up considerably at this and was quick to respond.

"Then can I interest you in some goods? I promise I'll make it worth your time." At this Cloud simply shook his head. The man looked ready to argue his point but the look in Cloud's eye quickly told him that the, for lack of a better word conversation was over. Cloud turned again and quickly leapt over the wall blocking the command centre from the public eye. Had he looked back he would've noticed the man with his jaw dropped. Moving quickly to the back of the command centre he was once again surprised to see that there were no guards inside. Swiftly jumping up the side of the cliff no one noticed him as he easily cleared the top of the canyon after his fourth jump. Sitting down on the top of the cliff he waited to find out what they were planning on doing. He noticed that they were using forbidden machina and were working with al bhed on his way up. He understood what the sinspawn were for. They were the victims in the loosest sense of the word considering what they were. What they were for he didn't know, all he could do now was wait and watch.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Auron was not having a good day, he decided. It had started out pretty good he had gotten tickets to the blitzball tournament in Luca. He had acquired a taste for the game after Jecht had forced him to watch him play in one game. He even had tickets in the third row too! But then he recognized Tidus playing in the final game for the Besaid Aurochs, which meant he had to keep his promise to Jecht and look after the boy. Then he realized that if Tidus were playing for Besaid then Yuna would be there too as Luca was a stop for the pilgrimage that Braska had taken. Then fiends had interrupted the tournament and started attacking the citizens and Auron had a duty to defend them so he moved to attack the fiends. Then he finds out that he had wasted energy when Maester Seymour summoned a massive aeon that destroyed all the fiends. Then he was forced to relive a bad experience as he explained to Tidus that Jecht was Sin. Just when he thought that things could not get any worse,_ they did_. He was forced to walk down a god-forsaken road with no shade and the sun beating down on them. Then he's told that a fiend is attacking chocobos in the area and Tidus suggested that they fight it. So after nearly getting knocked off a cliff he was given some semblance of mercy in the form of Rin who had offered to let them ride chocobos for free. But then they were stopped at a roadblock and told that essentially they had wasted there time crossing the road now and had to _wait._ Let me recap for you, instead of waiting at Rins place were they were safe to a certain extent from the unwavering heat they now had to wait on said road for at least a few hours. Once again Auron was gifted with the grace of the gods as Seymour had once again shown up and allowed them through. So after a lot more walking and plenty of fiend fights they had arrived at the command centre, only to learn that the crusaders were trying to get Sin to come _closer_ with the lure of sinspawn. He knew that they would fail, but he didn't know that the sinspawn would break free, fuse, and proceed to attack them. So after another gruelling battle and plenty of getting whacked around by the fiend they managed to defeat… Only to turn around and see Sin himself show up. After seeing another failed attempt Auron turned around to see that not only was the fiend still alive, but also only he, Seymour, and Yuna were conscious to fight. Everything had been fine until the fiend starting focusing on Yuna after a particularly large amount of healing magic being used by her caught its attention. Currently Yuna was on the ground with the fiend about to deliver the finishing blow…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

…Cloud had seen enough. He knew that the attempt at killing Sin would never work, but he didn't expect for the Sinspawn to attack the summoner alone. Something made him do what he did that day and he wouldn't know why until later. He drew Tsurugi from his back and withdrew the two side blades from it before throwing the mass of Tsurugi at the fiend.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Auron really didn't know what had happened. One moment Yuna was about to die and his promise to Braska would have been failed, and then the fiend screeched in pain and turned around to reveal that a massive blade was stuck into its back. Then a man with spiky blond hair had shown up with two blades in hand and fought the fiend-no scratch that, he slaughtered it. He completely outmatched it in speed, power and magic. Something that puzzled Auron was that he made no incantation or spoke the name. He was just engulfed in blue energy and the spell would just work. Little more than a few minutes later the fiend was dead and the man was taking the sword form the creatures back. Then, faster than Auron could see the man had taken the blades he was holding and put them _somewhere._ After looking a little closer he noticed that the large blade was actually bigger than it was before, does that mean, nah. He snapped back into reality to notice the man walking towards Seymour, who was tending to Yuna.

Cloud walked up to Seymour and in a voice that was raspy and dry from years without use:

"Is she alright?" Not expecting him to talk, Seymour took a second before answering in his usual high pitch.

"She's a little shaken up, but other than that she's fine."

Cloud nodded, and turned to Auron. "Where are the others of your party?"

"They're all nearby, except the blond one, could you help me rouse them."

"Why not?"

So they went about waking up everyone else and before Cloud could realize what was happening, things were set in motion that day that many would not be able to comprehend. After everyone was awake Cloud quickly found himself in the proverbial interrogation chair, courtesy of Auron.

"Who are you?" Cloud was not very happy that this person was demanding things from him but he could care less.

"My name is unimportant. Next question." Auron couldn't help but be taken aback at the finality in this person's tone, but decided to go along with him.

"Fine then, why did you help us?"

"Why not?" Cloud at this point was basically dismissing the man.

"Not many would jump into a fight against a fiend that strong with so little regard for themselves. Especially considering how strong it was and that you were neither her guardian nor a friend of hers."

"You know that your bullshitting the majority of what you just said, right?" Auron was now growling at Cloud, he was getting nowhere slowly. Yuna, who had finished the sending and had come to thank the person who had saved her life, then saved Cloud from the chopping block.

"Excuse me sir, but might I know your name please?"

Cloud turned his stone-cold gaze upon Yuna, but he widened his eyes a millisecond later as an overlap of Aerith came over Yuna and he found himself answering.

"Cloud. My name is Cloud." Happy that this man had answered her question she bowed her head to him.

"Thank you then, Sir Cloud. You have a great debt from me." Cloud couldn't help it. He smirked.

'Sir Cloud,' He mused. 'I could grow used to that.

"What reason did I have not to help, good summoner? I would not stand and let someone die when they are obviously innocent."

She looked even happier and for some reason Cloud felt happy too. He couldn't explain why, but it felt like he was around Aerith again.

"Why were you here in the first place?" Cloud turned to Auron again and his eyes once again widened as an overlap of Barrett came over Auron. Again Cloud found himself unconsciously answering the monk's question.

"I was watching the operation." Auron merely raised an eyebrow at this, said eyebrow being the only thing that betrayed the shock he felt.

"Then how did you manage to not only get to the top of the cliff, but also manage to get past the guards and sentries?" Auron all but demanded.

"I was rather disappointed to find that aside from the initial sentry and guards there were none on the inside of the command centre. As for your second question, I'm not telling you." Auron narrowed his eyes, not that anyone could tell through his sunglasses.

"Fine then." Turning on his heel Auron addressed Yuna. "We leave at once for Djose Temple."

Yuna nodded at this and turned to Cloud and bowed her head once more before looking rather worried about something. Finally, as Cloud turned to leave, she mustered her courage and asked:

"Sir Cloud, could you please be my guardian?" Everyone, and I mean _everyone_ turned to stare at Yuna in shock. Cloud himself was wide-eyed and in complete shock. Slowly he regained his composure before waiting for the young summoner to explain herself. He got his wish as the other woman among them asked the question for him.

"Yuna, why would you wish for this person to be your guardian out of the blue like this?" Yuna set her face in a determined look before turning to the older of the two girls.

"Because he saved my life and defeated the fiend we all had trouble with _single-handedly_." At this new revelation everyone then turned to stare at Cloud in either shock or awe. No one had ever defeated such a strong fiend on his or her own. At this time the ronso of the group walked up to the spiky-haired man and looked over him as if sizing him up. After a few minutes of the ronso not even blinking it nodded so as to show approval of… something. After seeing the ronso nod Yuna seemed even happier before turning to address the rest of the guardians who were all intently studying Cloud.

"Excuse me." The others seemed to be startled by this except Auron who didn't even break his stare.

The woman who had spoken before spoke up.

"Yes Yuna?"

"Please. Let me make him my guardian." At this point however, Cloud started laughing. It wasn't a happy laugh or even a laugh of insanity. No this was a laugh of a man who had nothing to live for and had just been reminded of it. It was a dry laugh, if it could be called that. After stopping, Cloud spoke up.

"You seem to be forgetting something. I never agreed to be your guardian at any point." While he was still as calm on the outside, Cloud was breaking on the inside. He kept replaying the scene in his mind. _That_ scene. The one where he gambled with fate and nearly lost because of his damned insecurity and grief. He kept hearing those words, those damnable words. In the real world the scene was that of confusion as the guardians tried to process what Cloud had said just after seemingly dismissing them.

The woman that Cloud's subconscious recognized as Lulu through hearing the conversations found the confidence to speak and had no troubles doing so.

"Y-your willing to become a guardian!"

"Isn't that what I just said?" Cloud said annoyed.

"But you just said-"

"I know what I said and I was just proving a point, never assume that the answer you'll get is the one you'll like. As for being a guardian I accept."

The blonde one that Cloud recognized being referred to as Tidus chose this particular moment to speak his mind.

"Why? I mean you just met Yuna, so why would you choose to be her guardian so soon after meeting her so soon?" Tidus asked while scratching his head in confusion.

"I suppose because you guys remind me of some people I use to know."

"Who?" Cloud smirked at this despite the wounds that were reopening.

"My old friends." With that Cloud turned back to Yuna, ignoring the shocked look on Tidus' face and asked.

"When do we leave for Djose?" Yuna was shocked at this question.

"How do you know we're heading to Djose?" Cloud simply pointed at the Mi'hen Highroad before stating.

"I saw you heading north along the highroad." Yuna made an 'oh' face before smiling.

"We leave whenever we are ready." Cloud nodded.

"Good, that means right now." For the umpteenth time that day Cloud had sent everyone around him into a stupor. Smirking once more Cloud started walking up the ramp that would lead to the Djose Highroad before stopping at the top. Turning back he shouted to them.

"Are you coming or are we sitting around here all day?" That quickly shook them out of their own little worlds long enough for Yuna to speak.

"Yes, let's get going." As everyone walked up the ramp Cloud turned towards the ocean as he felt the retreating energy that was Sin. He absentmindedly thought of how similar this group was compared to his own. Shaking his head of the rather depressing thoughts he moved to follow Yuna and the others before casting a final glance backwards at the retreating presence of power. Frowning he couldn't shake the feeling that something big was going to happen and that this group would be in the middle of it, 'That's yet another thing in common' Cloud mused absentmindedly. Yes, something was going to happen.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The strange group was currently making their way down the Djose Highroad and Auron was _still_ having a bad day. Now he had to go down yet another road with no shade, no protection from the heat and he was still wearing his god-awfully hot robe. But that wasn't the least of it, oh no. Now he had to put up with an introvert blonde with a sword twice the size of the one Auron had. I mean come on, that was _his_ _thing._ Then he continues to wal-scratch that, figh-no, no, _suffer_ through the fiends that currently resided in the Highroad. The ones on Mi'hen could easily be killed but these things were a completely different story. He had already been petrified at least six times! Thankfully they had stocked up on Softs beforehand from that O'aka person, at a ridiculous price mind you. The other creatures weren't nearly as bad as the basilisks but were still a thorn in his ass. Thankfully any fiends that got an opportunity to get a surprise attack didn't have the chance to use that opportunity as Cloud slaughtered anything that got too close to Yuna.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The group eventually reached the Temple of Djose. When the temple exploded into lightning and the rocks that used to encompass the temple began to float around it, Cloud heard Tidus gasp quietly "Whoa". Lulu took the quiet to reveal a fact.

"The Lightning Mushroom Rocks are only active when a summoner is communing with the fayth. Upon hearing this Tidus immediately remarked, "Maybe it's Dona?" At that Yuna immediately adopted a tone of urgency as she insisted that they make haste. With speed borne of a summoner's whim they made their way into the temple. All but ignoring the looks of praise and awe that they got they instantly went towards the cloister of trials. Upon entering they immediately went to work figuring out and finishing the cloister. After about half an hour and many headaches later they were in the chamber of the fayth only to see a summoner that Cloud had seen from the highroad. She was wearing pants which only covered the outside of her legs and a white bra which was _very_ suggestive for a summoner, though one couldn't blame as she was obviously from Kilika. Hanging from her back was a small red bow which was tied gently to her bra, and a pair of fingerless white gloves that were connected to purple sleeves that reached just past her elbow. With her was a man who stood a respectable 5'10" and was heavily built. He wore a pair of leather belts crossed over his shoulders in an X-pattern. His pants were unique in that they reached his lower abdomen, and they were a light blue colour, which led into a darker blue as they went up his leg and onto his abdomen. Shaking her head she spoke in a haughty tone as she addressed Yuna.

"Well, well, well… It looks like you've picked up another misfit huh? This one looks like he could use a haircut." Everyone froze at this as Clouds eyes had narrowed to the point where it was easy to tell from a distance that he was angry. Instead of answering her though he merely turned his back to her before walking to the side of the room. Dona merely scoffed as the tension in the room disappeared before she turned to her companion. "Barthello, we leave." The man merely nodded as they both turned to leave but before they could they found a blade at their throats. Everyone gasped as nobody had noticed Cloud move as they had assumed that he had ignored the insult. Cloud's eyes were like chips of ice and were trained on Dona and Barthello like a hawk, and as he spoke everyone felt a shiver go down their backs. "Never insult me or you will find yourself in a hell that nobody will be able to save you from." With that he removed Tsurugi from its current position and repositioned it on his back. As everyone started to get over their shock Yuna moved to scold Cloud but was held back by a firm hand on her shoulder. Looking behind her she saw Auron who merely shook his head before telling her quietly, "Go to the Fayth." Nodding slowly to show she understood she turned on the spot and quietly went into the chamber of the fayth. Everyone else had gotten over their shock by the time all of this had happened and Tidus made the move that nobody had dared taken since Cloud had first joined up. Walking up to Cloud he put on his best stern face- something he had learned from Auron-and began to speak.

"What was that for?" Tidus all but shouted at the blonde. Cloud then turned his eyes onto Tidus and instantly Tidus felt the effects. His stern glare turned into a nervous gaze and his hand began to shake. Cloud slowly spoke so as to not betray his cold demeanour to his anger.

"I do not take kindly to insults." Clouds voice, at this point, had returned to its normality after several drinks of water but even then it held a tiredness to it that none of the others could understand as to why it was there. Tidus steadied his hand and began to return to his previous confidence though his voice still wavered when he rebutted.

"But that was taking it too far!" The others seemed more than ready to support this statement and Cloud sighed, his emotions were getting the best of him.

"And what would you have me say then. That I'm sorry? Because I'm not. I personally don't care much for your constant questioning and I would greatly appreciate it if you backed off now." Clouds response angered the group. Lulu decided to join the verbal brawl while the others generally had a frown on their face, though with Auron that was normal.

"Be that as it may, if you insult a summoner you will find yourself without friends for a long while." At this Cloud merely scoffed.

"That would be no difference to me as I was already in that boat before I joined this little crew. Even then, just because I travel with you it doesn't mean that I'm your friend." If the group was surprised at the answer they did a damn good job at covering it up. Wakka took up where the others left off.

"Then why bother coming with us, ya? If you don't care for us then why are you even here? Wakka had a stern glare on his face the entire time, not even letting up when Cloud shifted his eyes to him.

"I already told you, because you remind me of my old friends." At this point Cloud was starting to lose control of his anger. He was starting to lose it, and he knew it. However the rest of the group would have none of it and Wakka kept on going.

"Then where are they now? Did they leave you because you threatened to kill them too!?" At this point it was a shouting match between the party and Cloud. Except now Clouds eyes had widened to the point of them being saucers before he narrowed them dangerously. In the blink of an eye Cloud had Wakka pinned up against the wall. Cloud had officially lost it, and Wakka was the target of said anger.

"They're not here because they're DEAD OKAY! THEY'RE DEAD, and I am still the only one that lives." Cloud's voice cracked with sorrow and anger, this fight had opened old wounds. His voice started out low and rose to a high pitch before he became nearly silent. The group had their mouths open and their eyes widened in shock, yes even Auron. However before anything could be said the chamber of the fayth opened and Yuna stepped out. Kimahri rushed to her side as she collapsed and Cloud dropped Wakka before storming out of the room, but not before stating over his shoulder. "I'll be waiting outside." The others could only stare after him, no one wanting to confront him with the recent piece of news being released.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Cloud was pissed, and even that was an understatement. He had stormed out of the temple all the while ignoring the questions of where the summoner was. Once he got outside he took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Good to know that Tifas anger management techniques worked to a certain extent. Regaining his cool exterior he did what he always did to keep his mind off things, he observed. He looked around the Mushroom Lightning Rocks, which were now stuck firmly to the temple side since a summoner was no longer in the chamber of the fayth. He observed the surrounding mountainside that the temple was built into. That was when something caught his eye, and that something was a flicker of red cloth. Moving to go up beside it he noticed it would take quite a jump to make it. Gathering his strength he leapt and landed on a plateau which was conveniently situated next to said cloth. When Cloud pulled on the cloth he noticed that it was firmly dug into the rock. Pulling Tsurugi from his back he dug the sword into said earth to move the rocks that covered the cloth like a makeshift shovel. After a few minutes of 'digging' he hit something solid and pulled Tsurugi back to discover a concrete coffin that the cloth led into. Beginning to suspect that he might not like whatever was behind the coffin he took a firm grip and heaved. When he had the lid fully off he threw it down and gazed at what was inside. Gasping and nearly falling Cloud felt his knees go weak. Despite the immense shock he gasped out one word:

"Vincent!?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Woot! Finally got this story ready for publishing. So James, let me know if this meets your expectations. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of reception I'll get, if any. Any ways, that's it for now from me and before anyone gives me flak for a few things I'll address a few things I purposefully put in there.

1. Clouds Joining- Some of you are sitting there going "He joined up with the party way too quickly." Well guess what, I wanted him to. Cloud sees a lot of his old group in Yuna and the others. So he's kind of there to make sure nobody makes the mistakes he did. That and he's trying to replace his old group as sad as that may sound

Mood Swings- Yes, Cloud switches from angry to monotone in the span of 4.3 seconds, but he's an emotional _wreck_. He has got nobody left to speak with whatsoever and he doesn't see the point in making new friends since he'll just lose them as well.

Speed- Some of you are thinking that Cloud is maybe too fast. Remember that Cloud has mako enhancements(As a result of him and Zack being tested on by Hojo in Nibelheim) and those greatly enhance everything within his natural realm. The rest of the world has got nothing like that.

4. Clouds Jumping Skillz- If you have an issue with this just watch Advent Childrens final fight between Cloud and Sephiroth, these two are practically _flying_ around the place.


End file.
